Kingmaker

Petra Rabbitsbane

Human barbarian

Description:

Bio:

I am from a barbarian tribe fairly far away from the River Kingdoms, in an area of rolling plains and wooded foothills. The barbarian tribes in my homeland have long struggled with surrounding kingdoms that have tried to claim and settle our lands. Over the years these neighboring kingdoms have occasionally set up outposts in attempts to achieve those ends; they have always met with fierce resistance. Our landscape is dotted with abandoned outposts and makeshift villages devoid of occupants — a testament to the tenacious unwillingness of our people to be tamed.

My mother was actually the daughter of a prominent official from one of these ill-fated outposts. A rival tribe had raided this outpost, burned it, and left its inhabitants for dead. When my own tribe came upon the burning wreckage, they discovered a young woman alive and hiding, the sole survivor of the raid. Though my people are barbarians, they are not animals — they rescued this woman and took her as one of their own. She was independent and intelligent and assimilated fairly well, and though she was always regarded as somewhat of an outsider and a curiosity, she eventually fell in love with my father, who was quite open-minded and progressive in his own right (by barbarian standards). They married and I was their only child.

My upbringing was somewhat bipolar and very unusual for a barbarian. My father trained me in barbarian combat — I suspect because he always hoped he’d have a son. I displayed natural talent for this, proving myself a strong, fast and agile fighter. My name is actually a result of the fact that I would disappear for hours at a time as a young child, only to return to camp with several rabbits I had chased down and killed as trophies. As is the barbarian custom, this nickname became my surname.

My childhood evenings, however, were a different matter. My mother would spend hours with me by the firelight, teaching me to read books and maps, and telling me stories of far-off lands, myths, legends and folklore, history and politics. As I grew up, it became apparent to me that though my fellow tribesmen loved me as one of their own, they also thought me rather strange. Not only were women not supposed to be warriors — as I was — but people in our tribe are never so worldly and well-read, nor do they even have much desire to be. They regarded me with leery superstition bordering on mistrust. They accepted me as a clansman, but they simply didn’t know what to make of me.

Once I came of age, I naturally decided that a life of adventure was the only viable option for me. That is why I am on this campaign; it’s a chance for me to see some of these far-off places my mother taught me about while at the same time allowing me to use my combat skills to make a living. And maybe along the way I can win some land and title and prove myself to my tribesmen back home.